This invention relates to encapsulant-filled electrical terminate or contact enclosures and particularly to a gel-filled enclosure that provides a secure connection to a contact member and allows the enclosed contact member to be tested without removing the enclosure. The invention also encompasses a method for protecting an electrical contact member and connection with an encapsulant-filled enclosure while allowing the contact to be tested without removing the enclosure.
Telecommunications and other wire connections to a terminal or contact on a substrate often require individual protection at each connection. In telecommunications applications it is common to have a plurality of elongated electrical contact members extending from a substrate with each contact forming a terminal for one or more telecommunications wire ends. The connection is made by connecting the wire end around the base of the contact member and then tightening a nut on the contact member to hold the wire in place. The individual terminal connections are protected by connecting a gel or other encapsulant-filled cap or enclosure over the contact member, nut, and wire end. The encapsulant material provides a seal around the exposed electrically conductive material to protect the electrical connection from moisture and other damaging contaminants, and the enclosure serves to retain the encapsulant material in place.
There were a number of problems associated with prior art encapsulant-filled enclosures for electrical contacts or terminals. One problem was that the caps or enclosures had to be removed in order to test the terminal. Once the caps were removed they generally could not be reused to provide an effective seal and had to be replaced by a new cap. Another problem with prior encapsulant-filled caps was that the caps could not be connected securely to the terminal. The poorly connected caps or enclosures tended to fall off leaving the terminal unprotected.